Antibiotic resistance a growing problem for some parts of U.S.

Bottles of antibiotics line a shelf at a Publix Supermarket pharmacy Aug. 7, 2007, in Miami. / Getty Images

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem worldwide and in the United States, but new research suggests it's a bigger problem in certain regions.

A new "ResistanceMap" from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) shows major disparities in antibiotic prescription rates and growing resistance to once-treatable diseases like urinary tract infections. The research was also partly funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Researchers at the center reviewed data collected between 1999 and 2010 and found overall antibiotic use has dropped about 17 percent. But for residents of the Appalachian and Gulf Coast states use is the highest in the country, where residents take about twice as many antibiotics on average per capita as people who live in Western states.

• Are antibiotics overprescribed to elderly in the South?
• WHO: Antibiotic overuse so prevalent scraped knee could be deadly
• Sinus infections not cured with antibiotics, study suggests

In 2010, the five states with the highest rates of antibiotic use in the U.S. were Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. The five states with the lowest antibiotic use were Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington.

Other Western and New England states also showed lower-than-average use.

"While nationally, people are starting to use antibiotics more judiciously, the new findings also show the message might not be reaching everyone," Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the center's Extending the Cure program, said in a press release. "People continue to consume antibiotics at much higher rates in certain parts of the country, and the problem appears to be getting worse."

The higher rates in some region may be explained by consumer culture, where patients expect antibiotics when they're sick with cold and flu and doctors are willing to prescribe then when they might not be necessary.

This comes during the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Get Smart About Antibiotics Week 2012," which encourages patients to ask their doctors what treatment works best rather than demand antibiotics. The CDC's awareness week also calls on doctors and health care administrators to find ways to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

The researchers also cite an alarming 30 percent rise in the overall share of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that causes urinary tract infections between 1999 and 2010.

Urinary tract infections account for about 8.6 million doctor visits each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and more than half of U.S. women will get a UTI in their lifetime. Currently there are five drugs used to treat the infections, but the rise in resistant-bacteria suggests they may be losing effectiveness.

"Without proper antibiotic treatment, UTIs can turn into bloodstream infections, which are much more serious and can be life-threatening," said Laxminarayan. "These findings are especially disturbing because there are few new antibiotics to replace the ones that are becoming less effective."

Not all the findings were bleak. CDDEP said doctors are better treating skin infections and there are fewer cases of drug-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections than in the mid 2000s. Use of fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics used to treat respisratory infection like pneumonia - fell by 24 percent from 2007 to 2010.

CDDEP has more information in an infographic on the findings.

[margieboy]

uh. HYPNOTOAD, spraying your sink with Lysol does not make bacteria resistant to Amoxicillan. Resistance is generally substance specific so it doesn't matter if you can't kill germs with Lysol any more but need antibiotics for pneumonia. It doesn't work that way.

Improperly used antibiotics probably account for most cases of bacterial resistance. I don't know about Oregon or Washington, but here in California there is an extensive patient and physician education campaign to teach both not to prescribe antibiotics "just in case" or for clear cases of viral disease. Huh. Education. Evolution. And what states again have problems?

[erasmus111]

Bacterial resistance can happen from overuse of anything. If it isn't killing all the bacteria, and some survive, it becomes resistant.

[hypnotoad72]

When everything is anti-bacterial, who is surprised by this?

Everything is marketed as being anti-bacterial... it's given out like candy.

Back when high school taught biology, we were taught that these critters can develop an immunity - true Darwinism at work, none of the cynical claptrap people mistake Darwin's theories as.

Amoxicillin is an overused antibacterial drug, of which many develop an immunity to over time as well. Higher dosages or newer drugs become needed. And even for those with immunity, screaming at the doctors to tell them the stuff doesn't work doesn't stop them -- some drug company needs their quota one way or the other... still, in a society that plays games with health, jacks up prices for housing after storms, etc, don't tell me we're a Christian or ___-Christian nation... actions speak louder than words and if anyone wants to know examples, read the New Testament. You'll be surprised at how anti-rich people it is as well...


But this bacteria resistance problem is only going to get far worse, unless IMMEDIATE change is taken.

So, come on CONgress, let's move forward - we implore you. Nor should we have to, but most of the populace cares more for cheap television lameoids, which means the rest of us have to speak up louder... and the President seems unlikely to put in any proper executive orders, but some people would complain regardless of what he does, even if the action helps them (*sigh*)...

[Henri_Rochard]

I live in Oregon. We're so tough we don't need no stinking ANTIBIOTICS !!

Our beer has enough alcohol to kill anything.

[hypnotoad72]

When properly administered by thoughtful practitioners...

I should have become a doctor instead, assuming they don't artificially deflate their numbers in their respective associations to keep patients' costs up...

[PourpaixPourpaix]

Surprised Florida and Arizona aren't on the high use list. With all the retired senior citizens there, one might expect that doctors who might be more prone to over-prescribe as a precaution to ward off fatal pneumonia.

[hypnotoad72]

Overprescribe, or poorly prescribe. There is a reason why some drugs say "take the complete dosage as instructed, even if you feel better". The goal is to eradicate every last cell and prevent drug-resistant strains from multiplying and spreading. Someone somewhere didn't follow directions and the problem blossoms from there. It's not always the cynical slant I love to promote... and too high a dosage or too low can also cause problems... even in the best of times, It must concede...

[erasmus111]

Incompetent doctors.

[hypnotoad72]

A patient who is immune to Amoxicillin has to remind his doctors all the time, and new ones still demand it be tried.

Whether some drug company wants a quota or if the doctor with all of those degrees is an ignorant FOOL does remain up for debate, I absolutely agree...

[erasmus111]

Here, we don't have to remind our doctors. Everything is written down in their charts and put on their computers. Most of us have our own doctors. And if we should go to the emergency, at any hospital, it's on the computers.

And as far as the drug companies go, ours aren't anything like yours. I'm sure they are money hungry, but not THAT money hungry. We don't get charged an arm and a leg for drugs.

Also, here, it is drummed into everyone's head that you don't need antibiotics for certain things and we are constantly told to take ALL medications for the FULL amount of time.